Ashok Gehlot cautions Centre against resuming flights from UK

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], January 5 : Amid the emergence of cases of new COVID-19 strain from the United Kingdom in India, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday urged the central government to reconsider its decision to resume flights from the UK.
"Cases of the new corona strain from Britain are increasing in India. Government of India should reconsider the decision to resuming flights from Britain after January 7," read the chief minister's tweet.
Gehlot further claimed, "If flights from foreign countries were stopped in January 2020 at the beginning of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, this situation probably would not have happened today."
Meanwhile, 58 people have been infected with the new strain of coronavirus, first reported in the United Kingdom, in India so far, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Tuesday.
Yesterday, a total of three persons had tested positive for the new mutant strain in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district, an official said.
"Three persons have tested positive for the new UK variant of coronavirus. Their samples were sent to Delhi. All three have been shifted to the district hospital. Contact tracing and their sampling have been done. The area where they live has been sanitised," Hawaiian Singh, SDM Sriganganagar told ANI.
Flight operations between India and the United Kingdom, which have been stopped due to the emergence of the new coronavirus strain, will be resumed from January 8 till 23, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.